The fall of Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad is ‘welcome’ news, Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner said today as she hit out at his brutal regime amid the fall of Damascus.
Syrian rebels announced on state television this morning that they had ousted Assad, ending a 50-year family dynasty in a lightning offensive lasting little more than a week.
Thousands in cars and on foot congregated at a main square in Damascus waving and chanting ‘Freedom’ from a half century of Assad family rule.
The DPM told Sky News’ Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips that Assad ‘wasn’t exactly good to the Syrian people’.
‘The situation looks very serious and if (the) Assad regime has fallen, then I welcome that news, but what we need to see is a political resolution in line with the UN resolutions,’ she said.
‘We need to see civilians and infrastructure protected, far too many people have lost their lives, we need stability in that region.’
The dramatic collapse also marks a seismic moment for the Middle East, dealing a massive blow to Russia and Iran, which have lost a key ally at the heart of the region and creating more uncertainty as the Gaza war rages.
The pace of events has stunned Arab capitals and raised fears of a new wave of regional instability.
The DPM told Sky News’ Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips that Assad ‘wasn’t exactly good to the Syrian people’.
Syrian rebels announced on state television this morning that they had ousted Assad, ending a 50-year family dynasty in a lightning offensive lasting little more than a week.
Thousands in cars and on foot congregated at a main square in Damascus waving and chanting ‘Freedom’ from a half century of Assad family rule.
Ms Rayner later said: ‘Dictatorship and terrorism creates problems for the people of Syria, who have faced so much already and also destabilises the region.
‘That’s why we have to have a political solution where the government is acting in the interests of the Syrian people.’
Assad, who had crushed all forms of dissent, flew out of Damascus for an unknown destination earlier on Sunday, two senior army officers told Reuters, as rebels said they had entered the capital with no sign of army deployments.
Western governments, which have shunned the Assad-led state for years, must decide how to deal with a new administration in which a globally designated terrorist group – Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) – looks set to have influence.
HTS, which spearheaded the rebel advances across western Syria, was formerly an al Qaeda affiliate known as the Nusra Front until its leader Abu Mohammed al-Golani, severed ties with the global jihadist movement in 2016.
